Alleged spa shooter had history of threats against wife

Zina Houghton granted a restraining order Thursday; she and 3 others killed Sunday

Brookfield, Wis., police on Monday continue to investigate the shooting at Azana Salon and Spa that left four people dead Sunday. Those killed were Cary Robuck, Zina Haughton, Maelyn Lind and the suspected shooter, Radcliffe Haughton. (Stacey Wescott, Chicago Tribune)

Radcliffe Haughton had threatened violence against his wife before. Last year, he barricaded himself in the couple's home, where police said he pointed a "long-barreled black object" out the window at Zina Haughton after she called for emergency help, according to court records.

This month, Zina called police to report that her husband had slashed her car's tires outside her workplace.

"His threats terrorize my every moment," she wrote in a petition requesting a temporary restraining order.

Despite the threats, Radcliffe Haughton was never convicted of serious offenses. But Sunday, authorities said Haughton made good on his threats, killing his 42-year-old wife and two other women and wounding four others in a shooting spree at the Azana Salon & Spa in Brookfield, Wis., west of Milwaukee. Haughton then turned the gun on himself inside the salon, where his body was found later.

Thomas Ahern, spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said Haughton, who previously lived in north suburban Northbrook and Wheeling, purchased a .40-caliber handgun from a private citizen Saturday — two days after a court ordered him to turn in all firearms.

In addition to Zina Haughton, the Waukesha County medical examiner's office Monday identified the victims as two other Wisconsin women: Cary Robuck, 35, of Racine, and Maelyn Lind, 38, of Oconomowoc. Like Zina, they were licensed beauticians at the spa, across the street from Brookfield Square Mall.

"I want to emphasize how very brave Zina was because she was a hero," said Betty Brunner, 65, of Jackson, Wis. She was talking to Zina before her 11 a.m. hair appointment when Haughton walked in, pointed his revolver straight up in the air and yelled, "Everybody down, everybody down!"

"I'm sure she saved a lot of lives by trying to de-escalate the situation," said Brunner, who did not see the shootings. Radcliffe pulled Zina behind a wall away from the reception area before he began firing, she said.

Authorities said they had responded to calls at the Haughton household since 2001 that ranged from animal complaints to domestic abuse. But during the most serious incident — when Radcliffe barricaded himself in the house in January 2011 — Zina refused to cooperate, and charges against her husband were eventually dropped, according to police.

Yet when seeking a court order of protection Oct. 8 after her tires were slashed, Zina wrote: "He threatened to throw acid on my face, burn me and my family with gas. … He said he would kill me if I left him or ever contacted police."

The couple's tumultuous relationship — they were in the process of divorcing — was also known to neighbors who frequently heard the couple arguing at their home in Brown Deer, Wis., north of Milwaukee.

Zina temporarily moved out of the home several times, said Ernest Polk, who lives across the street.

On Oct. 4, Zina asked Brown Deer police to escort her to her house so that she could remove her belongings, according to a police report. She then drove to work at the salon and saw that her husband had arrived there earlier, she told police.

She went inside the spa, where she and three co-workers reported seeing Haughton pull up to her car in his black Mazda, then lean out the window and slash the tires on her Audi, according to the police report.

Haughton was arrested and booked into the Waukesha County Jail on misdemeanor allegations of criminal damage to property and disorderly conduct-domestic violence, said Waukesha County District Attorney Brad Schimel.

Haughton posted $350 bail and was released later that day, Schimel said. The conditions of Haughton's release prohibited him from intimidating, harassing or threatening his wife, Schimel said.

Despite the arrest, Haughton was never formally charged in the case, Schimel said. Prosecutors finished drafting a criminal complaint against Haughton on Oct. 16, but a representative of the Brookfield Police Department hadn't yet sworn to the complaint, so it couldn't be filed with the court, Schimel said.

Such a delay is common in cases involving defendants who are not in custody, Schimel said.

Although restrictions placed on domestic violence suspects, as conditions of bail or in temporary restraining orders, usually stop most suspects from following through on their threats, Haughton was clearly an exception, Schimel said.

"Ultimately, that piece of paper does keep a lot of people from committing further law violations," Schimel said. "It doesn't stop everybody."

Schimel also said he did not believe Brookfield police were aware of Haughton's previous encounters with law enforcement in neighboring Milwaukee County when he slashed his wife's tires.

On Thursday, the court approved a four-year restraining order that barred Haughton from all contact with Zina. He was ordered to turn in his firearms to the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office, according to the order. He did not turn in any weapons, according to a sheriff's spokeswoman.